Steve McClaren aims to use the Riverside Stadium as a stepping stone to stretching Boro's UEFA Cup ambitions deep into 2006.

The Boro boss is determined to take the club further than last term, when they reached the last 16.

That's why he is delighted with the draw for the group stages, and is looking forward to entertaining relative unknowns Dnipro and Litex Lovech on Teesside.

McClaren, who is currently coaching England ahead of the two crucial world cup qualifiers, told the Evening Gazette: "You want to win your home matches in any competition.

"There are no easy games in Europe, and we don't know a great deal about Dnipro and Lovech at this stage.

"But we'll welcome them here and we'll be doing our best to win both games and, in fact, all the games in the group."

If Boro can take six points at the Riverside, then they will be virtually certain to finish in the top three in Group D.

A result in their opening match in Switzerland against Grasshoppers, two weeks tomorrow, will set everything up nicely.

McClaren said: "Grasshoppers have a great tradition in Europe but we will go there and try to win it."

Grasshoppers remain undefeated at the Hardturm this season, although it was their home form which cost them during the last campaign as they had to settle for third place.

Boro's Premiership match at West Ham has been switched to Sunday, October 23, because of the Grasshoppers tie.

Many Boro fans will be keen to see the Alkmaar game on November 24, because it also offers supporters the opportunity to have a short break in Amsterdam.

The problem is that Alkmaar's ground has a capacity of only 8,400, which means that Boro are entitled to no more than 420 tickets.

Hopefully some intensive negotiations will help to improve this situation.

Boro chief executive Keith Lamb, who attended the draw in Nyon, Switzerland, said: "The draw and schedule give us an excellent chance to qualify. I accept that our two home games are not the most glamorous, but they are games we feel we can do well in.

"We have also avoided potentially difficult trips for our fans to the Ukraine and Bulgaria."